Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

Rookie Notes: Stewart, Eagles, Browns

June 16th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s uncertain how far Shemar Stewart will take his standoff with the Bengals organization, but Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com believes it’s highly unlikely the rookie skips the 2025 campaign in an attempt to reenter the 2026 draft.

This does represent a possible solution for Stewart if he refuses to give in to Cincy’s demand to include a specific, guarantee-voiding clause in his rookie pact. Florio describes this path as “nuclear,” and the pundit believes this is unrealistic considering how much money the player would be leaving on the table.

At the very least, Stewart would be giving up his $10MM-plus signing bonus. It’s unlikely he’d be able to instantly recoup that money in 2026, as Florio is skeptical that the pass rusher would exceed or match his 17th-overall draft slot. Stewart’s year off from football would obviously be seen as a detriment, and Florio wonders if rival squads could also be wary of the player’s attempt to “buck the system.”

Assuming he falls down the draft board in this hypotethical, Stewart would also likely see a dip in the $19MM total value of his Bengals rookie contract. In other words, it could take the player years to recover the lost money.

More rookie notes from around the NFL…

While Stewart has generally been respectful throughout the ordeal, he’s also been clear on his dissatisfaction with the Bengals organization. As Florio notes, the rookie will have to tread lightly when it comes to public comments if he does ultimately put pen to paper. If Stewart decides to speak out after signing a deal, the Bengals organization could cite a breach of the “[p]layer’s obligation of loyalty to Club and/or undermines the public’s respect for the Club, Club coaches, or Club management.” The organization could look to make Stewart forfeit guarantees in this scenario.
Speaking of unique rookie contracts, the Eagles did something unusual with sixth-round OT Cameron Williams‘ pact. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, the Eagles guaranteed $676K of the rookie’s contract vs. the $201K that would normally be allotted for that spot. In return, the Eagles included an unusual split salary in the third year of the player’s contract, which would reduce the player’s salary if he lands on a reserve list. Per Fitzgerald, the Eagles are hoping to make this a precedent across all future draft picks as the front office looks to wrestle some contractual control beyond the fourth year of a rookie deal.
We heard the other day that the Browns were open to keeping all four QBs on their roster, including recent draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. While the organization could try to get creative with stashing a rookie on the practice squad, Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland doesn’t envision the Browns pursuing this path. Before a team can stash a player on the practice squad, that player would be exposed to waivers, and there’s a chance a rival squad takes a leap on Gabriel or Sanders if Cleveland tries to sneak them through.

Latest On Bengals’ Standoffs With Trey Hendrickson, Shemar Stewart

June 15th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

JUNE 15: The Bengals have reopened contract talks with Hendrickson, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While that is no guarantee that a deal will get done, Hendrickson has criticized the team for the lack of communication in the past, so this would appear to be a positive step in negotiations.

JUNE 14: There is no end in sight to the Bengals’ dual contract standoffs. First-round pick Shemar Stewart left Cincinnati on the last day of mandatory minicamp, while All-Pro Trey Hendrickson remains away from the team as he fights for a new deal.

Hendrickson is “very much dug in on his position” and will not sign a one-year extension, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via the Rich Eisen Show). The veteran edge rusher is not seeking to eclipse Myles Garrett‘s $40MM APY, but wants something just above $35MM per year in the range of Maxx Crosby and Danielle Hunter. Hendrickson is also looking for a stronger commitment from the Bengals in terms of length and guaranteed money.

Stewart, meanwhile, remains steadfast in his opposition to a specific clause that would void the remaining guarantees in his contract if he were to default in one year. That language is different than the contracts offered to the Bengals’ last two first-round picks, but it is the same as the majority of first-round picks around the league, including the players drafted right before and after Stewart, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. At least one person inside the organization believes that the language used with Amarius Mims and Myles Murphy would have the desired voiding effect in case of a default, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

The Bengals have options to end both disputes. They could obviously change the terms of Stewart’s deal to match those of Mims and Murphy, or they could offer him something elsewhere in the contract. Given that first-round picks all have fully-guaranteed deals with preset slot values, Cincinnati’s options in that regard are slightly limited. They could give Stewart more of his money up front via an accelerated payment schedule for his signing bonus or bigger training camp roster bonuses.

For Hendrickson, the Bengals will have to meet his demands in some form or fashion. He is currently set to earn $16MM in non-guaranteed money this year, which will not be enough to get him on the field. A two-year extension worth $71.5MM would slightly outpace Crosby and Hunter, and guaranteeing his 2025 and 2026 compensation should get him upwards of $50MM in guaranteed money.

It’s unclear if that would get a deal done, but Pelissero said that the Bengals have “talked about a variety of options over the past several weeks.” He still expects the two sides to reach an agreement on multi-year extension, but there’s no timeline to getting a deal done.

Bengals DB Dax Hill Aiming For Training Camp Return

June 14th, 2025 at 8:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

An ACL tear ended Dax Hill‘s season in 2024. The fourth-year defensive back has made progress in his rehab, though, and a clear target is in place for a return to the field.

Hill was sidelined through OTAs and this week’s minicamp while continuing to recover. If all goes according to plan, however, he will receive clearance in time for training camp. The Bengals’ camp will begin on July 23, and being available for at least some of it will be key as he prepares to return to action.

“I’m hopeful in the next couple of weeks,” Hill said when asked about the point at which he hopes to be receive the green light (via Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison). “This break is five weeks, so probably right before, hopefully. I’ve been preparing myself to be cleared and trying to show them that I can actually be cleared.”

Hill played sparsely on defense as a rookie before logging a 100% snap share the following season. The Michigan product did so as a safety in 2023, but last offseason he transitioned to outside cornerback. That move came to an abrupt end in October when Hill become one of several members of Cincinnati’s secondary to go down through injury. Improvements against the pass will be key in 2025, and Hill should have a notable role in that effort.

When speaking to the media, the 24-year-old added he is unsure at this point where he will line up when healthy. Hill was classified as a corner when his fifth-year option was picked up, an indication he may retain CB duties upon being cleared. Cincinnati re-signed Marco Wilson this spring while retaining Geno Stone on a restructured deal. Mike Hilton and Vonn Bell are unsigned, though, meaning vacancies at the cornerback and safety spots exist compared to last season.

The Bengals did not use any of their six draft picks on defensive backs this year, so Hill should handle a notable workload at one position or another in 2025. After recording 110 tackles and 11 pass breakups during his campaign spent as a safety starter, returning to that role under new defensive coordinator Al Golden could give the Bengals a productive defender. On the other hand, a long-term spell at corner could be deemed more valuable to the team. Hill will remain in place for at least the next two seasons, so plenty of time remains for a permanent position to be established in this case.

A immediate return to full team drills would come as a surprise, as Hill acknowledged in his remarks. Still, a ramp-up process during training camp would mark a welcomed development for team and player and a return to action in line with his timeline.

Bengals’ Shemar Stewart Departs Final Day Of Minicamp

June 12th, 2025 at 10:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

Shemar Stewart has yet to take the field in spring practices, and he remains unsigned at this point. The first-round Bengals rookie had remained with the team up to this point, but that changed on Thursday.

Stewart departed the Bengals this morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Team and player remain engaged in a stalemate stemming from certain clauses in his rookie contract. Stewart has yet to sign his pact, one which the Bengals are attempting to differentiate from that of recent Day 1 selections Myles Murphy and Amarius Mims.

Specifically, Cincinnati’s stance that a default at any point of the contract will automatically void the remainder of the pact has become a public point of contention in this situation. Stewart attended the first two days of minicamp while remaining sidelined, drawing praise from his teammates for taking a stand against the team’s proposed contract structure. With it becoming clear no resolution would be coming in the immediate future, Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes Stewart’s departure was aimed at not creating a further distraction.

Thursday marks the third and final day of minicamp and thus the last practice session before training camp next month. No major team meetings or other events will be missed as a result of Stewart’s absence (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison). The Texas A&M product’s attention will remain focused on trying to leverage a deal congruent with those Murphy and Mims received, although he has limited leverage in doing so.

Nonetheless, today’s news means both Stewart and fellow edge rusher Trey Hendrickson will have missed all on-field work during OTAs and minicamp. The latter is angling for an extension after posting a second straight 17.5-sack season. Hendrickson is owed $16MM in the final year of his deal (whereas the top of the EDGE market now sits at $40MM annually) and has threatened to hold out into the regular season absent an extension. Such a development would place increased importance on Stewart, but this year’s No. 17 pick has yet to take any reps so far.

“I think for all the rookies, you’d like them to be on the field,” head coach Zac Taylor said of the Stewart situation (via Pro Football Talks’ Myles Simmons). “But certainly, there’s things that happen over the course of an NFL career and this is one of them right now. So, he’s been in the meetings, he’s been positive that way. He’s been a good learner. And we look forward to getting him back on the field quickly.”

Taylor declined to offer any predictions on when an agreement will be struck with Stewart. Plenty of time remains until training camp, though, meaning this standoff could continue for at least another several weeks.

Shemar Stewart Attends Bengals Minicamp, Won’t Practice

June 10th, 2025 at 6:50pm CST by Ben Levine

As Shemar Stewart continues to engage in a unique contract dispute with the Bengals, the first-round rookie will not practice with his new squad. However, Stewart was in the building for the first day of mandatory minicamp.

According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the rookie defensive lineman was in attendance for the start of minicamp today, but he doesn’t intend to hit the practice field until he inks his rookie contract. The stare down has gone on for more than a month, as the player’s camp pushes against a clause that would “turn a default in any given year into a void of all remaining guarantees” (per Florio).

This is a new tactic from the Bengals front office, as recent Day 1 picks signed contracts that simply voided the guarantees for the year in which the default occurred. Cincinnati also apparently proposed a payment schedule that did not match that of Myles Murphy and Amarius Mims, the team’s first-round picks in 2023 and 2024. That issue seems to have been resolved.

This seems like a relatively minor detail that could be hammered out quickly, but the two sides continue to struggle to find common ground on the generally straight-forward rookie pact. Even Stewart admitted to reporters that he expected to be on the practice field by now.

“Very bad,” Stewart responded when asked how badly he wants to practice (via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer). “I’ve been doing this for most of my whole life, then all of a sudden it’s gone over something very simple to fix. It’s kind of disappointing.”

As the rookie pushes back against a new precedent set by the Bengals front office, he has the support of the locker room. Stewart told reporters that his veteran teammates have told him he’s doing the right thing by pushing for a more traditional rookie contract (via Jay Morrison of BengalsTalk.com).

Stewart’s dispute with the organization comes as Trey Hendrickson is in a public showdown with the organization. The rookie pointed to his veteran teammate’s absence when addressing his own “hold-in.”

“We all agree Trey will be alright,” Stewart said (via Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports). “But technically he’s still 1% wrong for being under contract. In my case, I’m 100% right.”

Considering the uncertainty surrounding Hendrickson’s future in Cincy, the Bengals would surely want their first-round pick on the practice field sooner than later. Still, it sounds like neither side is inclined to blink, meaning this staring contest could continue for the foreseeable future.

Trey Hendrickson Absent From Bengals’ Minicamp

June 10th, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Adam La Rose

Tuesday marked the beginning of the Bengals’ mandatory minicamp. In a development which comes as little surprise, the team’s top remaining extension priority is absent.

Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is away from the team, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The reigning sack leader has been engaged in a long-running stalemate with Cincinnati over an extension. One year remains on his contract, but planned talks on a major raise have not resulted in much progress toward an agreement.

The most recent effort on the Bengals’ part came when the team reached out to Hendrickson’s camp yesterday, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. She adds, though, that the latest communication between the parties did not yield traction on the extension front. Head coach Zac Taylor previously alerted Hendrickson to the threat of fines for skipping this week’s minicamp. That move prompted a public airing of grievances from the All-Pro, who said last month he will not play under his existing pact.

Plenty of time remains to see if that will end up holding true, but team and player are not in a favorable position at this point. Hendrickson was unable to generate talks on a new deal last offseason, and the Bengals dismissed the trade request which followed. The 30-year-old upped his leverage with a second straight 17.5-sack campaign in 2024, although his stance of preferring to remain in Cincinnati has no doubt hindered his efforts to approach the top of the EDGE market.

$40MM per season now represents the ceiling for the position’s market. It is unclear what Hendrickson and his camp have listed as an asking price, but it was recently reported the Bengals have yet to offer a pact at or around $35MM on average. Cincinnati has already committed to big-ticket receiver deals this offseason (with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins each receiving four-year contracts), and Hendrickson always represented the No. 3 priority on that front.

Unlike 2024, the four-time Pro Bowler received permission to seek a trade this offseason. Plenty of interest has been shown, but at this point a deal sending him out of Cincinnati is not expected. With Hendrickson due to collect $16MM as things stand, a holdout will remain on the table in the absence of progress on an extension agreement. Presuming he remains absent for all three days of minicamp, Hendrickson will be subject to over $104K in fines.

Bengals Release LB Germaine Pratt

June 9th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

As expected, Germaine Pratt will not be with the Bengals in 2025. The veteran linebacker will be released today, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The team has since confirmed the move.

Throughout the offseason, signs have pointed to a parting of ways in this case. Pratt has loomed as a release candidate for months, and today’s move will allow him to hit the open market ahead of training camp. The 29-year-old requested a trade in February, but no agreement was worked out with an interested team. Now, the sides will move on after six years together.

One season remained on Pratt’s contract, but none of his scheduled base salary was guaranteed. Instead of keeping the former third-rounder in place at a cap hit of $8.18MM, the Bengals will take the financial benefits of this move. Cutting Pratt after June 1 will generate $5.85MM in savings while incurring a dead money charge of $2.33MM.

Since the start of last month, a release has been seen as an inevitability. Cincinnati will continue to rely heavily on Logan Wilson as a productive contributor at the second level of the defense in 2025. That marks the first season with Al Golden in place as defensive coordinator, and he will have a pair of rookies in place at the linebacker spot. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr. is in position to replace Pratt as a starter.

Golden’s predecessor, Lou Anarumo, now finds himself in charge of the Colts’ defense. To little surprise, Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison notes Indianapolis is a logical landing spot for Pratt. The team lost E.J. Speed in free agency, and with more than $20MM in cap space a low-cost Pratt signing aimed at inserting him into the starting lineup should not be a challenge.

After taking on a first-team role midway through his rookie campaign, Pratt remained a mainstay on defense through the remainder of his Bengals career. The NC State product has increased his tackle total every year, and he hit double-digits in that respect over each of the past two campaigns. With seven interceptions and 23 pass deflections to his name, production against the pass will also be expected once he lands with a new team.

The Bengals entered Monday mid-pack in the NFL in terms of cap space, but once the Pratt move is processed they will have additional funds available. It will be interesting to see if a linebacker addition winds up being made from outside the organization or if Cincinnati’s in-house options will be relied on to fill the vacancy.

Bengals Yet To Offer $35MM Per Year To Trey Hendrickson

June 6th, 2025 at 10:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

Well into the 2025 offseason, the Trey Hendrickson situation remains far from resolved. A trade sending the reigning NFL sack leader away from the Bengals is not expected by those around the league, but it remains to be seen if an extension agreement will be worked out.

Hendrickson’s efforts to land a lucrative new pact last spring were unsuccessful, and his trade request did not result in talks with interested teams taking place. This time around, the situation changed with the Bengals allowing the All-Pro to seek a trade. Cincinnati set a high asking price, and multiple offers were turned down as an illustration of the team’s desire to keep him in place for at least one more year.

Talks on a long-term pact have not gone according to plan, and both team and player have gone public with their remarks on the state of negotiations. A holdout is a possibility at this point (as is usually the case in at least a few situations around the league this time of year), and Hendrickson himself said last month talks are on hold. Finances will of course be critical in determining how this situation unfolds.

The top of the edge rush market now sits at $40MM annually. While Hendrickson would be hard-pressed to match the value of Myles Garrett‘s new deal, he could aim for one closer to the $35MM-per-season mark. The likes of Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa are each near that figure, and Hendrickson could look to join them. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes, however, that the Bengals have yet to offer a deal with an AAV at or around $35MM.

As things stand, Hendrickson is due to collect $16MM in 2025 as a result of the short-term arrangement previously made with the team. The 30-year-old faced the opportunity of playing his way into a much more valuable pact last season, and he certainty did so by posting 17.5 sacks for the second straight season. That total helped earn him a fourth straight Pro Bowl nod and brought his Bengals total to 57 in 63 games. A notable raise is in store, but it remains to be seen how far into a new pact the team will be willing to go with respect to guaranteed compensation.

Quarterback Joe Burrow has maintained his support for a Hendrickson extension this offseason, and Breer predicts a deal will ultimately be worked out. Plenty of work remains in this case, though, and it will be interesting to see if the Bengals up their offer when negotiations pick up and if doing so helps to facilitate an agreement.

2025 NFL Cap Space, By Team

June 4th, 2025 at 8:57am CST by Sam Robinson

This week started with a point on the NFL calendar that has been important for decades. Although teams have not needed to wait until June to make their most expensive cuts in many years, they do not see the funds from post-June 1 designations until that point.

With June 1 coming and going, a fourth of the league has seen the savings from post-June 1 releases arrive. That has affected the NFL’s cap-space hierarchy. Here is how every team stands (via OverTheCap) following June 2 changes:

New England Patriots: $67.34MM
San Francisco 49ers: $53.49MM
Detroit Lions: $40.12MM
New York Jets: $39.8MM
Las Vegas Raiders: $36.16MM
Arizona Cardinals: $32.11MM
Dallas Cowboys: $32.11MM
Pittsburgh Steelers: $31.88MM
Seattle Seahawks: $31.21MM
Tennessee Titans: $30.16MM
Green Bay Packers: $28.94MM
Cincinnati Bengals: $27.08MM
Los Angeles Chargers: $26.83MM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $26.63MM
Jacksonville Jaguars: $26.54MM
Philadelphia Eagles: $25.79MM
New Orleans Saints: $22.62MM
Washington Commanders: $21.13MM
Indianapolis Colts: $20.09MM
Los Angeles Rams: $19.44MM
Baltimore Ravens: $18.95MM
Carolina Panthers: $18.69MM
Minnesota Vikings: $18.49MM
Cleveland Browns: $18.2MM
Houston Texans: $16.3MM
Denver Broncos: $16.23MM
Chicago Bears: $14.76MM
Miami Dolphins: $13.81MM
Kansas City Chiefs: $10.75MM
Atlanta Falcons: $5.02MM
New York Giants: $3.82MM
Buffalo Bills: $1.69MM

The Jets saw their situation change the most from post-June 1 designations, as $13.5MM became available to the team after its Aaron Rodgers and C.J. Mosley cuts. Teams have up to two post-June 1 designations at their disposals. Five clubs — the Jets, Browns, Ravens, Eagles and 49ers — used both slots. Only three other teams made a post-June 1 cut before that seminal date. The eight that made these moves will have dead money split between 2025 and 2026.

Baltimore used the cost-defraying option to release Marcus Williams and Justin Tucker, while Cleveland — in Year 4 of the regrettable Deshaun Watson partnership — used it to move on from Juan Thornhill and Dalvin Tomlinson. As the Eagles’ option bonus-heavy payroll included two hefty bonus numbers for Darius Slay and James Bradberry, the reigning Super Bowl champions released both 30-something cornerbacks. Together, Slay and Bradberry will count more than $20MM on Philadelphia’s 2026 cap sheet. As for this year, though, the Browns, Eagles, Ravens and 49ers respectively saved $9.85MM, $9.4MM, $6.3MM, $6.4MM and $5.6MM, according to Spotrac.

The Jaguars made a mid-offseason decision to release Gabe Davis, doing so not long after trading up to draft Travis Hunter — with the plan to primarily play him at wide receiver — at No. 2 overall. Off-field issues, coupled with a down 2024 season, made Tucker expendable — after the Ravens drafted Tyler Loop in Round 6. The Vikings moved off Garrett Bradbury‘s contract and will replace him with free agency addition Ryan Kelly, while Mason lasted two seasons paired with C.J. Stroud‘s rookie deal. The 49ers made it known early they were moving on from Javon Hargrave, while 2024 trade addition Maliek Collins also exited the team’s D-tackle room.

Derek Carr‘s retirement being processed Tuesday also changed the Saints’ funding. The team will spread the dead money ($50.13MM) across two years. Even with the number being reduced this year, the Saints will be hit with the second-highest single-player dead money hit (behind only the Broncos’ Russell Wilson separation) in NFL history as a result of the Carr exit. The Saints will only be responsible for $19.21MM of that total in 2025. As they did with Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox‘s retirements last year, the Eagles will also process Brandon Graham‘s hit this way.

Eight of this year’s post-June 1 releases remain in free agency. The Patriots added Bradbury to replace the now-retired David Andrews, while the Vikings scooped up Hargrave. As the Steelers await Rodgers’ decision, they added two other post-June 1 releases in Slay and Thornhill. Tomlinson joined the Cardinals not long after his Browns release.

Bengals Unlikely To Trade Trey Hendrickson; Holdout Still On Table

May 29th, 2025 at 10:25pm CST by Ben Levine

As the Trey Hendrickson/Bengals staring contest wages on, there’s an increasing sentiment that the saga will lead to an extension agreement or a holdout. As ESPN’s Ben Baby and Jeremy Fowler write, there doesn’t seem to be much momentum surrounding a potential Hendrickson trade.

As the 2024 sacks leader pushed for a new contract, the Bengals allowed the player to seek a trade to a new squad this offseason. According to ESPN, a handful of teams showed interest in extending Hendrickson if they were able to complete a trade with Cincy’s front office. Ultimately, “nothing materialized,” and that’s led to the current stalemate between the two sides.

The Bengals were reportedly seeking at least a first-round pick in return for the All-Pro. Per ESPN, there’s a belief that the organization “either didn’t get an offer including a first-round pick or it rebuffed engaging trade offers in March.” While a suitor could still come out of the woodwork, the general consensus is that Hendrickson will still be on the Bengals roster for the start of the regular season.

So, focus will instead turn to extension negotiations. Hendrickson has already gone public with his frustrations, going as far as to threaten a holdout. A source described the defensive star as “extremely dug in,” and while in-season holdouts are becoming increasingly rare under the current CBA, it sounds like Hendrickson could be one of the few players to follow through with their threat.

After pacing the NFL in sacks in 2024, Hendrickson is naturally looking to join the top of the market among edge rushers. As ESPN notes, a pair of offseason deals exacerbated the situation: Myles Garrett‘s record-breaking deal with the Browns and Danielle Hunter‘s $35MM-plus annual earnings from his new deal in Houston. That latter contract is especially notable since Hunter and Hendrickson are both 30, and it could perhaps serve as a benchmark on a Bengals deal.

The $34MM threshold is notable among edge rushers, with Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa joining Garrett and Hunter in that exclusive club. While the Bengals may be willing to temporarily pay that type of AAV, term is the likely sticking point between the two sides, as ESPN notes that Hendrickson will surely be seeking some long-term security.

“I still think they can come to a compromise, getting him above that $30-million threshold while covering themselves,” an NFC executive told ESPN. “The age [30] is something that must be a factor for them.”

So, as the two sides continue without a resolution, Hendrickson will likely stay away from voluntary OTAs. When it’s time for the pass rusher to show up, it’s uncertain if he’ll engage in a hold-in or a literal holdout. Per ESPN, the veteran has already been warned that he’ll face fines for any unexcused absences. In other words, this situation could get even more contentious as we get closer to training camp.

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